Vancouver AI Data Centre Plans Draw Fire Over Location and Resource Use
Telus, the federal government, and developer Westbank are moving forward with plans to build three AI data centres in British Columbia-one in Kamloops and two in Vancouver, including sites next to BC Place and near the Hootsuite offices on East 5th Avenue in Mount Pleasant. The project has split the city, with supporters citing $9 billion in projected economic activity and over 1,000 construction jobs, while opponents question the choice of urban locations and the environmental cost.
The environmental calculus
Training a single large language model consumes thousands of megawatt hours of electricity and emits hundreds of tons of carbon, according to 2024 data compiled by Harvard Business Review. Global AI energy demand is projected to increase tenfold by 2026, exceeding Belgium's annual electricity consumption.
Data centres typically require one to five million gallons of water daily. Most still rely on inefficient evaporative cooling, though less water-intensive technologies exist, according to environmental law organization EarthJustice.
Telus says its Vancouver facilities will run on 98 percent renewable energy and use closed-loop liquid cooling to cut cooling consumption by 80 percent compared to traditional data centres. Westbank noted the Mount Pleasant site will be an adaptive reuse of existing infrastructure, allowing connection to district energy systems.
Political opposition takes shape
Federal NDP Leader Avi Lewis called for an immediate pause on new AI data centre construction until federal guardrails are in place. "We can't sit back and let Big Tech billionaires decide our future for us," Lewis said.
B.C. Green Party Leader Emily Lowan questioned Telus's clean energy claims. "We're already importing American coal-powered electricity to deal with our energy crisis. This energy crisis is caused by drought conditions, which will only be made worse by the extensive water usage of data centres," she said, calling for a moratorium.
Vancouver City Councillor Sean Orr raised concerns about asset obsolescence. Data centre chips typically last five years before becoming outdated, he noted, questioning whether billion-dollar infrastructure that could become stranded assets within three years qualifies as sovereign infrastructure.
Land use and the downtown question
Opposition has centred largely on the urban locations. Vancouver residents on social media questioned why transit-accessible downtown real estate would house primarily computers rather than housing, hotels, or office space.
City Councillor Peter Meiszner countered water concerns, citing plans to use recycled water from BC Place and noting consumption would be 90 percent lower than traditional data centres.
BC Hydro's managed approach
BC Hydro says it's taking a "managed and phased approach" to serving large new loads. Rather than first-come access, the utility runs a competitive process with capped power allocations to protect affordability and reliability for residential customers.
Telus projects with signed facilities study agreements for transmission won't compete in the new framework. Any additional capacity beyond those amounts must be secured through the competitive process.
"In simple terms, it means growth is being carefully managed, so we can support new industries like AI while making sure there's still capacity for homes and other important sectors," BC Hydro said.
For real estate and construction professionals evaluating infrastructure projects, understanding the operational and resource implications of large-scale AI development is essential. Learn more about AI for Real Estate & Construction and AI for Operations.
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